Two residents will be sentenced this month for sexual related crimes.
Ward Morris, St Maries and Linnea Ogden, St Maries will be sentenced January 19. Both had entered plea deals last year resulting in some of their charges being dropped.
Morris was accused of two counts of distributing child pornographic material, sexual battery or soliciting a minor 16 to 17 in age and committing an infamous crime against nature.
Morris entered an Alford plea, pleading guilty to counts one and two of distributing child pornographic material.
The one count of soliciting a minor 16 to 17 in age and one count of infamous crimes against nature were dropped as a result of the court accepting the Alford plea. Morris also waived his right to an appeal as part of the plea deal.
An Alford plea is when a person admits the evidence the prosecutor would present at trial would be enough to prove the person guilty. The defendant does not have to admit to committing the crime like in a standard plea of guilty.
According to the court minutes Morris stated he had a stroke in Sept. 2021. Morris’ attorney, Douglas Phelps, stated Morris has cognitive function but “there is some impairment to remember.”
According to the court minutes, county prosecutor Mariah Dunham said Morris committed both counts of distributing child pornographic materials via Twitter.
The minutes state that Morris was the account holder and the Twitter address was tied to his email, address and IP address.
Both counts could each carry a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and $10,000 in fines.
Ogden was accused of committing two counts of child sexual battery of a minor ages 16 to 17, two counts of possessing child exploitative material, and one count of evidence destruction, alteration or concealment.
She entered into a plea deal Oct. 7 after her jury trial was vacated in September 2022.
Ogden pled guilty to one count of child sexual battery with the other counts being dropped.
The court accepted the plea and dismissed counts two, three, four and five. The maximum penalty for child sexual battery is 25 years.
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